Why President Obama went all-in on Chuck Hagel

President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden have fiercely defended the nomination of Chuck Hagel, despite advisers and Hill Democrats who questioned the move and predicted a firestorm, according to Democratic sources.

That opinion was validated, at least for the moment, by events Thursday as Senate Republicans narrowly blocked cloture on Hagel’s nomination. Obama immediately slammed the filibuster — which could be broken after a 10-day congressional recess.

Text Size

Obama accuses GOP of playing politics on Hagel filibuster

Reid: Hagel filibuster 'tragic'

But an irked Obama is dead set on installing his pick at the Pentagon — even though the bitter battle over his confirmation is likely to leave lasting scars on his nominee at a time of looming military cuts and dangerous new developments in Iran and North Korea.

“We’ve never had a secretary of defense filibustered before … there are only a handful of instances in which there’s been any kind of filibuster of anybody,” the president said during a Google+ chat after the Senate vote.

“My expectation and hope is that Chuck Hagel … will be confirmed as our defense secretary,” he said. “It’s just unfortunate that this kind of politics intrudes at a time when I’m presiding over [a war in Afghanistan].

Senior White House officials predicted that a battered Hagel would manage to limp over the finish line and take the job of defense secretary later this month. But others pointed to the cost after weeks of absorbing criticism about his previous statements on Israel, his personal finances and unanswered questions about Obama’s personal response to the Sept. 11, 2012, attacks in Benghazi, Libya.

“It’s going to put him in a difficult position once he gets there,” said Bill Cohen, a former Republican senator from Maine who served as defense secretary under President Bill Clinton. “I’m sure there will be some lingering discontent on the part of some on the Hill. That, however, speaks to the process we’re talking about. … Those resentments will weigh around. I don’t think everyone will say, ‘We’ve put you through the wringer, now forget about it.’”

“I think it’s tragic what’s happening, and I think it’s shameful,” said Cohen, part of a group of ex-officials backing Hagel’s nomination.

“The big picture here is the Pentagon is not going to have much protection from outside political forces during the second Obama administration,” said defense analyst Loren Thompson of the Lexington Institute. “Hagel has alienated so many people in his own Republican Party that reaching across the aisle would be a challenge. … It raises questions about whether he will be able to implement any major changes at the Pentagon, given how narrow his base of support on the Hill seems to be.”